Future Visit
by enigma939
Summary: Doc's meeting with a troubled 2015 Marty McFly on his first trip into the future.


**Future Visit**

**A/N: **Just a short story about Doc's meeting with the 2015 Marty on his first trip 'back to the future'

_October 29__th__, 2015_

_10:04 pm_

Glancing at his watch, Dr. Emmett 'Doc' Brown might have experienced a slight thrill at the irony of visiting his friend at precisely the same time that he had sent him 'back to the future' way back in 1955, but given the sad circumstances surrounding this visit, Doc was in no mood for irony.

The door was answered by Lorraine, not the Lorraine he knew, but a much older 77 year old version of her. He hastily explained who he was and that his youthful appearance was owing to a trip to the rejuvenation clinic (which was true enough), and that he had come to visit Marty. Lorraine, recognising him as 'Calvin Klien's' uncle, and Marty's old friend from the 80's, welcomed him in and sent him up to Marty's room, apologising for Marty being unwilling to come down. "I'm afraid he doesn't leave the room very often now, let alone the house", she said morosely.

And so Doc was seated opposite Marty McFly. Again, not the Marty McFly he knew, but a middle-aged, 47 year old version of him. But age and appearance weren't the most drastic differences between the Marty he'd just left behind in 1985 and this future version. This was the portrait of a drowned man, a man whom life had beaten over and over again to the point that he'd just learnt to ignore the bruises and wallow in despair uninterrupted.

"Doc?" he said, looking up, his voice sounding hoarse. "It can't be you...you look so...young", he commented. Once, he would have exclaimed with incredulity, but now, Marty had no capacity to experience extreme feelings, or indeed, any feelings at all save for despair.

"It is me, Marty. The 'me' from 1985. Or don't you remember that day? October 26th 1985. The night we tested the Delorean. The night you accidently went back in time. The night you returned and I left. I promised you I'd look you up, and I did!" Doc said.

Marty hesitated for a few minutes, struggling to remember a day well before the chain of miseries that had all but destroyed his life but finally he said, "Yeah I remember. It's been a long time Doc", he said with a wry attempt at a smile. "More than thirty years".

Doc was puzzled for a second then realised that owing to his thus-far three day long trip into the future, the ripple effect had finally caught up with him and erased any existence he might have had in 2015-something which would be alarming if not for the fact that it could be easily remedied as soon as he returned to his proper time. But he couldn't return, not until he'd learnt everything...

"I've been busy the last few days...what with hover-converting the Delorean and undergoing the rejuvenation therapy, but not too busy to find out all about this!", Doc said, holding up a newspaper with the prominently displayed headline "YOUTH JAILED", beneath which was the photograph of Marty's teenage son, Marty Jr., the splitting image of the 1985 version of his father.

Marty sighed. "Kid never really had any spine. He's a lot like my old man...at least, what my old man was before I...changed things. I guess it's just destiny's way of getting even with me", he added forlornly.

"Nobody's destiny is written Marty", Doc said.

"Goddamn it, Doc, mine HAS!" Marty exploded suddenly. "It's easy for YOU, with your goddamn time machine, to talk about rewriting destiny, but not for ME. I was STUCK here, all these years...stuck in this shithole called my 'LIFE'".

Doc gave his friend a few minutes to calm down. Finally Marty apologised, "I'm sorry Doc...I guess, you couldn't have known, what it's been like...these last thirty years". He sighed. "It all started that day back in '85. October 27th. The day after you left. Jennifer and I were getting back from the lake when Douglas Needles showed up, challenged me to a race...I HAD to do it Doc, I HAD to show him..." Marty paused, but Doc already knew what happened next. The hours of research he'd spent at the holographic newspaper archives weren't in vain. "The Rolls Royce...goddamn Rolls Royce..."

"Anyway, I broke my hand...and between hospitals and courtrooms, I guess the music just left me..." He sighed again. "So I ended up taking a dead-end job and a few years later, Jen married me. Last week, when she started the divorce proceedings, she told me she only married me cuz...she felt sorry for me..." He almost looked like he was about to cry when he said that. "Anyway...she married me...and we had this...wimp...of a kid, and then our daughter...both of 'em looked like me...both of them destined to ruin their lives, just like me".

"Well...you know the rest of the story. My son was goaded into this robbery by Griff Tannen and was caught and sentenced to 15 years. The same night, Needles goaded me into this...deal...that got me fired. A week later Marlene tried to break Marty Jr. out of jail and got arrested. Around that time, Jennifer filed for divorce and threw me out of the house...so I came back her to live with my folks..." He put his hands in his head, "I screwed up big time Doc...I screwed everything up big time".

Doc patted his old friend on the head comfortingly, "It's alright Marty, it's alright...we all make mistakes".

"Yeah...but none as bad as mine...nor as many as mine!" Marty exclaimed angrily, the anger unequivocally directed at himself and the wreck he'd made himself.

For a few minutes, the two friends remained silent, Marty staring at the floor, Doc staring at Marty. Finally Doc spoke, "Marty, maybe, just maybe, I could help..."

"How?" Marty asked forlornly.

"Well...I do have a time machine, remember?"

At that, Marty sat up suddenly. "You mean...you can...prevent it all from happening..." Marty asked hopefully.

"Not all of it Marty, no", Doc said firmly. "Maybe I can, but I shouldn't. We all make choices that shape the course of our lives, and no one should influence us, right or wrong...I will help your son, and your daughter, if I can...but I won't...I can't help you...I can't make your decisions for you..."

"But Doc, all you have to do is tell...the 'other me'..." Marty began but Doc cut him off, "Tell him what...not to race Needles? Okay, say he does it...but the next day, or the next week, or even the next year, someone else will call him...you... 'chicken'... and you'll be back to square one. It's impossible to change the past, or the future, Marty...not when you can't change yourself first. And no one can do that, Marty...not even me".

"Well then, if you can't help me", Marty said, "At least help my children...please".

"I will", Doc comforted him, and stood up. "I'll need the help of your younger self to do that. I've already come up with a plan...and maybe, I can't make any promises, but maybe, your younger self may learn something from his experiences...maybe, he'll be able to change. I can't...and won't do anymore than that".

"Fair enough", Marty said. "So I guess its goodbye, huh, Doc?" he said, realising now that if Doc was going to change the past, he, this version of him at least, would be erased from existence.

"Not goodbye Marty...we'll be meeting again...we'll have already _met_ in fact...thirty years ago", Doc said.

Outside, after bidding a hasty farewell to the elderly George and Lorraine, Doc walked out onto Lyons Estate, so different, yet in some strange way, still familiar, to what it was like in 1985. He got into the modified Delorean and took a few seconds to collect his thoughts. He slipped on the mask the rejuvenation centre people had given him ("to surprise your friends", they'd said)...he _didn't_ want to surprise the younger Marty and distract him with any unnecessary details, when he should be focused completely on his mission. Doc knew now from experience that a time traveller could very likely spend only a limited amount of time in the future before his future existence was erased by his absence from his present. So Marty could only afford to be in 2015 for a few hours at most. Which was fine...he knew precisely what had happened in the Cafe 80's that afternoon on October 21st...he would have Marty substitute for his son and say 'no' to Griff...

But what really concerned Doc was Marty himself. He wanted to prevent the accident, yet every instinct in him told him it would be futile until Marty learnt the error of his ways himself...and Doc hoped he would...maybe he could help along with the process...but ultimately it was Marty's choice to make alone...

He sighed. "Well here's hoping it all works out for the best", Doc said. He drove the Delorean back along the street. Then, he activated the Time Circuits and inputted the Destination Time-OCTOBER 26TH 1985, 9:22 AM. He accelerated the car steadily, watching the digital speedometer rise. Then, just when he was passing by the McFly house, the speedometer hit 88 miles per hour, and he suddenly crashed into several trash cans that appeared on the street. He saw Marty and Jennifer, the _teenage_ Marty and Jennifer, about to kiss, seemingly oblivious to the darkness of their future...

No, THAT wasn't their future. Not anymore. Not if he could help it...

So he emerged from the car, rushed and grabbed Marty saying, "Marty, you've got to come back with me!"

"Back where?" the bewildered teenager asked.

To which he replied with conviction, "Back to the Future".


End file.
